The various system functions of present day telecommunication systems are built-up and integrated on circuit boards or in back planes. The system functions are adapted to those applications utilized at that time, for instance with respect to incoming and outgoing signal links between various units in the telecommunication system.
A drawback with present day solutions is that the construction and positioning of the system functions cannot always be effected in a unitary and optimum fashion from a functional aspect, primarily due to the lack of flexibility. This results in unnecessarily extensive and bulky solutions, which at times also tend to create duplicate, similar functions in series. The possibility of congregating and positioning the functions where they can do the most good is lacking, which renders the present day methods of building the system functions divided and unstructured.
Other drawbacks lie in the necessity of changing a complete circuit board in the event of an error or fault in a given system function. Similarly, running modifications to and upgrading of system functions, such as transitions from a coaxial cable to an opto-cable also necessitates the replacement of a complete circuit board, which entails a significant amount of work and time losses.